Haiti kidnappers of Japanese national freed

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The two Japanese citizens, who had been kidnapped in Haiti, have been released, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

On Thursday, the ministry said one of the two people kidnapped in Haiti was a Japan citizen, but did not identify the other.

The group, which included Japanese nationals, was kidnapped on Wednesday. The ministry confirmed it was freed on Friday.

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The kidnapped Japanese, and their abductors, are believed to be Chinese nationals, and they were working in Haiti for China’s Co-Operation and Reconstruction International Foundation.

An abductions has been rare in Haiti, where the fragile government is struggling to take control of a country racked by violent crime and political uncertainty since its last civil war ended in 2004.

A spokesman for Japan’s foreign ministry confirmed the release but declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy restrictions.

The ministry had said two Japanese nationals were on a boat rescued from a sinking boat on Sunday and were being taken back to the port city of Port-au-Prince.

The abduction was the first of foreigners from Haiti since the 2010 killing of an Italian aid worker. In 2011 a Canadian was kidnapped and held for 21 days, and in the same year an Italian aid worker was also abducted.

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